Emerging Unstaffed Stores Keep Innovating

Cisco published a paper in 2012 on unmanned store possibilities enabled by digital technologies. In 2014, ShelfX, based in Boulder, Colorado, US, introduced a convenience store concept that has no lines, cashiers, or product scanning. Other players in the US, such as Amazon, have also started commercializing unattended stores. Most recently, the concept has been gaining traction in China, Japan, and South Korea.

The Rise of Unstaffed Stores in Asia

Retail players in Asia embraced the unstaffed store business to minimize increased labor costs and manage sudden risks such as the COVID-19 crisis. According to Technode, unstaffed stores in China emerged in 2016, and COVID-19 accelerated market growth. Unattended stores became the safest option for shopping, aiming to avoid physical contact with others. F5 Future Store, currently doing business only in Guangdong, plans to open 60 new stores in other provinces.

Despite already high numbers of convenience stores in Japan, FamilyMart, a Japanese retail company, recently announced plans to open 1,000 unattended convenience stores in collaboration with another business by the end of 2024. The company is planning to collaborate with Japan Post Holdings to open unstaffed stores within post offices.

In South Korea, nearly 1,700 stores rotating between having staff and going unmanned are operating between the four major convenience store chains—CU, GS25, 7-Eleven, and Emart24. This hybrid store model has been rapidly rising, according to Emart24. South Korean businesses have quickly adopted cashier-less store businesses from ice cream shops to unstaffed cafes and coin laundry services.

Unstaffed Store Technology to Address Challenges

This emerging business opportunity of cashier-less stores in Asia faces challenges, but solutions are already being implemented. For instance, unstaffed stores need advanced surveillance (e.g., to avoid shoplifting). Emart24 has implemented an emergency detection system that uses AI to recognize human voices calling for help and can deal with sudden security and surveillance risks such as customers collapsing due to medical emergencies or property damage. Amazon's cashier-free Go store can track customer purchasing behavior by leveraging mobile phone apps, AI, cameras, and sensor technologies. AI staff in 7-Eleven Korean convenience stores are enhancing the in-store customer experience by enabling customers to have real-time conversations. 

However, many of these are pilot projects or flagship stores where the technology is first being applied and still requires technical improvement. The history of commercialization of unstaffed stores is not very long. There is still room for improving business by incorporating innovative technologies. Hence, players in the retail business planning to develop unstaffed stores should collaborate with technology providers that offer innovative solutions to security and customer service issues.